UK
Bibby Stockholm: Most asylum seekers housed on ‘deterrent’ barge are not small boat migrants
Lizzie Dearden
Fri, 11 August 2023
Most of the asylum seekers so far housed on the government’s controversial barge are not small boat migrants and arrived in the UK legally, The Independent can reveal.
Ministers have claimed the Bibby Stockholm and use of military bases as accommodation would “deter” English Channel crossings, but the majority of those so far selected for the vessel arrived by plane.
After speaking to charities and legal firms working with more than 30 asylum seekers ordered to move onto the barge by the Home Office, The Independent has been told of only two who arrived by small boat.
All others used regular passenger planes to reach the UK, with some claiming asylum at the airport shortly after landing - meaning they did not enter the country illegally.
A former Conservative minister called the situation “extraordinary”, adding: “The policy of reducing hotels is not working because they’ve got more people coming and they’re still using them.
“Even though they’ve got the barge and have been talking about tents and military bases and the rest of it nothing has changed. People are still coming so there’s no deterrent factor.”
The vast majority of people who have boarded the Bibby Stockholm, and those who successfully challenged their transfer notices through lawyers, are understood to have flown into the UK legally.
“Many of us entered Britain nine to 11 months ago, by airplane,” an Afghan asylum seeker told the BBC. “Some of us applied for asylum at the airport. We did not come by boat.”
An Iranian man now living on the barge toldThe Sun he had flown into Britain six months ago, and that others on board were mainly from his country and Afghanistan. Both nationalities have very high asylum grant rates.
Home Office guidance states that people can be accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm for a maximum of nine months, meaning that anyone whose claim is not granted in that time will have to be sent back to hotels or other government accommodation.
Labour said the barge had become a “symbol of Tory incompetence”, while other opposition MPs accused the government of using “sound bites” that do not match reality.
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “This latest revelation that the majority of people staying on board the Bibby Stockholm arrived in the UK on a flight just proves it was never going to be the answer to the asylum backlog chaos, and the fact that government ministers have been touting it as such is frankly laughable.”
Mr Kinnock said the asylum system was “going from bad to worse”, as more boats arriving on Thursday pushed the number of crossings since 2018 past 100,000.
Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s home affairs spokesperson, said the government should be working to properly process the asylum backlog rather than pursuing accommodation with “major safety issues”.
“The number of people on the Bibby Stockholm who arrived by plane shows that for the UK government, ‘Stop the Boats’ is more of a soundbite than a solution,” she told The Independent.
(AFP via Getty Images)
“It is high time that this government dropped the rhetoric and focused on protecting the vulnerable people we have a duty to protect.”
The Liberal Democrats accused the government of “headline-chasing” to distract from figures showing rising Channel crossings and asylum claims, as it remains unable to deport anyone to Rwanda.
The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “Once again, the reality of the situation is simply not reflected in the Home Office's sound bite policies.
In April, shortly after the Bibby Stockholm’s use as asylum accommodation was announced, immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed it would “deter” small boat crossings.
“We must suffuse the entire system with deterrents, and that includes our national approach to how we accommodate illegal migrants,” he told parliament.
“In the short term, that means switching to cheaper and more appropriate forms of accommodation, such as disused military sites and vessels.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, several ministers refuting concerns about the safety and suitability of the Bibby Stockholm have said “illegal migrants” should not be given a choice of accommodation.
After being forced to reverse transfer notices for at least 20 asylum seekers, which had been issued in violation of official guidance, the Home Office issued “threatening” letters telling selected people to move onto the barge or face having government housing withdrawn.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed on Wednesday that a “significant” number of asylum seekers who initially objected had since changed their minds and moved on board, but the Home Office has refused to give numbers.
Senior Tories have defended Conservative Party deputy chair Lee Anderson’s statement that asylum seekers who resist moving onto the barge should “f*** off back to France”, although many did not travel fromt here.
“They're illegal migrants - they're not genuine asylum seekers,” he claimed on Thursday.
Official figures show that 92 per cent of small boat migrants arriving since 2018 have claimed asylum, and most of the cases decided were granted.
The Home Office said it does not differentiate between methods of entry when allocating asylum accommodation, and that the primary aim of the Bibby Stockholm was to reduce spending on hotels.
A spokesperson added: “The first asylum seekers are now being housed on the vessel in Portland after it successfully completed all health, fire and safety checks. The number of people on board will increase gradually with more arrivals later this week and in the coming months, as part of a carefully structured phased approach.”
Lizzie Dearden
Fri, 11 August 2023
Most of the asylum seekers so far housed on the government’s controversial barge are not small boat migrants and arrived in the UK legally, The Independent can reveal.
Ministers have claimed the Bibby Stockholm and use of military bases as accommodation would “deter” English Channel crossings, but the majority of those so far selected for the vessel arrived by plane.
After speaking to charities and legal firms working with more than 30 asylum seekers ordered to move onto the barge by the Home Office, The Independent has been told of only two who arrived by small boat.
All others used regular passenger planes to reach the UK, with some claiming asylum at the airport shortly after landing - meaning they did not enter the country illegally.
A former Conservative minister called the situation “extraordinary”, adding: “The policy of reducing hotels is not working because they’ve got more people coming and they’re still using them.
“Even though they’ve got the barge and have been talking about tents and military bases and the rest of it nothing has changed. People are still coming so there’s no deterrent factor.”
The vast majority of people who have boarded the Bibby Stockholm, and those who successfully challenged their transfer notices through lawyers, are understood to have flown into the UK legally.
“Many of us entered Britain nine to 11 months ago, by airplane,” an Afghan asylum seeker told the BBC. “Some of us applied for asylum at the airport. We did not come by boat.”
An Iranian man now living on the barge toldThe Sun he had flown into Britain six months ago, and that others on board were mainly from his country and Afghanistan. Both nationalities have very high asylum grant rates.
Home Office guidance states that people can be accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm for a maximum of nine months, meaning that anyone whose claim is not granted in that time will have to be sent back to hotels or other government accommodation.
Labour said the barge had become a “symbol of Tory incompetence”, while other opposition MPs accused the government of using “sound bites” that do not match reality.
Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “This latest revelation that the majority of people staying on board the Bibby Stockholm arrived in the UK on a flight just proves it was never going to be the answer to the asylum backlog chaos, and the fact that government ministers have been touting it as such is frankly laughable.”
Mr Kinnock said the asylum system was “going from bad to worse”, as more boats arriving on Thursday pushed the number of crossings since 2018 past 100,000.
Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s home affairs spokesperson, said the government should be working to properly process the asylum backlog rather than pursuing accommodation with “major safety issues”.
“The number of people on the Bibby Stockholm who arrived by plane shows that for the UK government, ‘Stop the Boats’ is more of a soundbite than a solution,” she told The Independent.
(AFP via Getty Images)
“It is high time that this government dropped the rhetoric and focused on protecting the vulnerable people we have a duty to protect.”
The Liberal Democrats accused the government of “headline-chasing” to distract from figures showing rising Channel crossings and asylum claims, as it remains unable to deport anyone to Rwanda.
The party’s home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “Once again, the reality of the situation is simply not reflected in the Home Office's sound bite policies.
In April, shortly after the Bibby Stockholm’s use as asylum accommodation was announced, immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed it would “deter” small boat crossings.
“We must suffuse the entire system with deterrents, and that includes our national approach to how we accommodate illegal migrants,” he told parliament.
“In the short term, that means switching to cheaper and more appropriate forms of accommodation, such as disused military sites and vessels.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, several ministers refuting concerns about the safety and suitability of the Bibby Stockholm have said “illegal migrants” should not be given a choice of accommodation.
After being forced to reverse transfer notices for at least 20 asylum seekers, which had been issued in violation of official guidance, the Home Office issued “threatening” letters telling selected people to move onto the barge or face having government housing withdrawn.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick claimed on Wednesday that a “significant” number of asylum seekers who initially objected had since changed their minds and moved on board, but the Home Office has refused to give numbers.
Senior Tories have defended Conservative Party deputy chair Lee Anderson’s statement that asylum seekers who resist moving onto the barge should “f*** off back to France”, although many did not travel fromt here.
“They're illegal migrants - they're not genuine asylum seekers,” he claimed on Thursday.
Official figures show that 92 per cent of small boat migrants arriving since 2018 have claimed asylum, and most of the cases decided were granted.
The Home Office said it does not differentiate between methods of entry when allocating asylum accommodation, and that the primary aim of the Bibby Stockholm was to reduce spending on hotels.
A spokesperson added: “The first asylum seekers are now being housed on the vessel in Portland after it successfully completed all health, fire and safety checks. The number of people on board will increase gradually with more arrivals later this week and in the coming months, as part of a carefully structured phased approach.”
Updated Sat, 12 August 2023
Conservative ministers are facing calls to resign after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water supply of the Bibby Stockholm.
A senior Tory figure has told the i newspaper that Home Secretary Suella Braverman "should be sacked" after the 39 migrants on board the vessel were removed over safety concerns.
A Home Office insider described the saga - which comes less than a week after the first asylum seekers were transferred onto the barge - as "embarrassing".
And Scott Benton - a former Conservative MP who now sits as an independent - said that the barge had become a "complete and utter farce".
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he added: "As if having porous borders isn't bad enough, we can't even move 39 illegal immigrants onto a barge properly."
Campaigners from No To The Barge have also said immigration minister Robert Jenrick should stand down from his government position with "immediate effect" after promising just days ago that the barge was safe.
Ms Braverman is now under growing pressure to scrap plans to house asylum seekers on barges altogether, following a significant setback to a policy that has been beset with controversy and delay from the very start.
Care4Calais, which said it stopped 20 migrants from being moved onto the floating accommodation on Monday, said the discovery of bacteria shows their "concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified" as they called on ministers to axe the policy.
Steve Smith, chief executive of the charity, said: "The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this government's hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain's asylum system.
"The government should now realise warehousing refugees in this manner is completely untenable, and should focus on the real job at hand - processing the asylum claims swiftly, so refugees may become contributing members of our communities as they so strongly wish."
Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, can cause a serious type of lung infection known as Legionnaires' disease.
None of those on the barge have shown signs of having the disease and are all being provided with a health assessment, the Home Office said.
It was not clear where the migrants would be moved to on Friday night.
Putting them in hotels would likely cause fresh embarrassment for the government, which procured the barge alongside other budget sites in an effort to reduce the £6m-a-day cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels.
The Home Office insisted disembarking those on board was a "precautionary measure" while further tests are carried out - but questions remain about who knew what and when.
Sky News understands routine testing of the water supply was initially carried out on Tuesday 25 July but the results did not come back until Monday 7 August - the same day asylum seekers began to board the Bibby Stockholm, which is docked in Portland Port.
However the Home Office was not made aware of the results until two days later on Wednesday 9 August. Six people boarded the vessel a day later but were later removed on the advice of the UK Health Security Agency, with a decision taken on Friday to remove everyone.
Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said it was "extraordinary" that it appeared proper checks had not taken place before migrants were moved on board.
"It's absolutely right that the barge has to be evacuated but what a complete and utter shambles. This is a catalogue of catastrophe and government ministers should hang their heads in shame," he told Sky News.
He said the government would not need to use "barges, hotels or military bases" if they tackled the backlog in the asylum system which has reached more than 173,000 - outstripping the 50,000 units he said were in the UK's asylum estate.
He called the Bibby Stockholm "a floating symbol of Conservative incompetence".
Read More:
On Wednesday, Mr Jenrick told Sky News the barge was "perfectly decent accommodation" - despite earlier warnings from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the vessel was a potential "death trap".
The union reiterated its position in the wake of the latest development as they accused the government of ignoring their concerns.
Assistant general secretary Ben Selby said: "We wrote to Suella Braverman more than a week ago to demand a meeting to discuss these issues. We have had no response to that letter, and our fire safety and operational safety concerns remain.
"It remains our professional view that it's a potential 'death trap' and an accident waiting to happen.
"However, Suella Braverman and her ministerial colleagues are hellbent on confining vulnerable people in jail like conditions on what is effectively a prison ship."
It comes at the end of the government's "small boats week" which was supposed to highlight new hardline policies for stopping Channel crossings.
The announcements were somewhat overshadowed by a row involving Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson saying asylum seekers who don't like barges should "f*** off back to France" and later admitting the government had "failed" to tackle illegal immigration.
Mr Sunak has made "stopping the boats" one of his five key priorities in government.
However, he faced a further blow this week after 775 people were recorded crossing the English Channel on Thursday - the highest daily number so far this year.
It pushed the cumulative total of the number of people who made small boat journeys from France to the UK to more than 100,000 since 2018, when records began.
Asylum seekers leave Bibby Stockholm amid fears over bacteria
Sky News
Updated Fri, 11 August 2023
Asylum seekers have been removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel's water system.
It is not clear where they are being moved to but the Home Office said all 39 migrants on board would be disembarked on Friday as a "precautionary measure".
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is understood to be chairing meetings about the situation.
Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, can cause a serious type of lung infection known as Legionnaires' disease.
None of those on the barge have shown signs of having the disease and are all being provided with "appropriate advice and support", said the Home Office.
The Bibby Stockholm is one of the new forms of asylum seeker accommodation the government is using to cut the costs of hotels.
Ministers are facing questions about when the tests were carried out and who knew what and when.
Sky News understands routine testing of the water supply was initially carried out on Tuesday 25 July but the results did not come back until Monday 7 August, the same day asylum seekers began to board the Bibby Stockholm, which is docked in Portland Port.
However the Home Office was not made aware of the results until two days later on Wednesday 9 August.
The government said it was only yesterday - Thursday 10 August - that it was advised by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to remove people on board, and then only the six individuals who embarked that day.
The decision was taken to remove all 39 individuals as a "further temporary precaution" on Friday.
Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said it was "extraordinary" that it appeared proper checks hadn't taken place before migrants were moved on board.
'Utter shambles'
He told Sky News: "It's absolutely right that the barge has to be evacuated but what a complete and utter shambles. This is a catalogue of catastrophe and government ministers should hang their heads in shame."
He suggested the government had "rushed" to try to get everybody on to the barge quickly "because the whole thing was becoming such public relations disaster for them" after the opening of the vessel was beset by a number of delays.
"It's once again an example of Tory ministers putting their own interests ahead of the interests both of the community there and of the people that they're putting onto the barge."
A Home Office spokesperson said the health and welfare of those on board the vessel "is our utmost priority".
They confirmed environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm "have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation".
The government department added the bacteria samples relate "only to the water system on the vessel itself" and not fresh water entering the barge.
'No health risk to wider community'
It stressed there is no health risk to the wider community of Portland and that the disease "does not spread from person to person".
The Home Office said it was working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Dorset council's environmental health team and Dorset NHS.
With a capacity of more than 500, the government hopes using the Bibby Stockholm, together with former military bases, will help reduce the £6m a day it is spending on hotel bills for asylum seekers waiting for claims to be processed.
The first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge on Monday and a small number also arrived on Tuesday.
However several refused to board the vessel amid warnings from the Home Office that they would face having government support removed.
On Wednesday, Mr Jenrick described the barge as "perfectly decent accommodation" that was similar to that used by British oil and gas workers.
But speaking to Sky News, Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, disputed Mr Jenrick's comparison.
Asked how common it was for the bacteria to be present, Dr Pankhania said: "They should not be present in a place like that and when Robert Jenrick says we house oil workers on similar barges, he is definitely not comparing like with like.
"When you accommodate oil workers...there wouldn't be 500. And when you have a large number of people accommodated you need better plumbing systems so the water temperature is maintained at the right temperature."
Dr Pankhania said the disease would most likely have spread through the showers used on the vessel.
He said those most likely to be negatively affected were older people, smokers, and those who are immune suppressed.
Campaigners were also quick to hit out at the government over the development.
The charity Care4Calais, which represents asylum seekers, said the bacteria discovery shows its concerns over the barge are "justified", adding: "The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this government's hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain's asylum system."
The campaign group No to the Barge said the news was "another example of the haphazard, incompetent way our government has approached this scheme from start to finish" and called on Mr Jenrick to stand down.
The discovery of Legionella on board the Bibby Stockholm is the latest embarrassing setback in a plan beset with controversy and delay from the very start.
The barge faced considerable opposition due to concern about asylum seekers' welfare and the impact on local services, while the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned the vessel is a potential "death trap" - an assessment they have stood by today.
The government argues the Bibby Stockholm and its other new accommodation sites will act as a vital deterrent to small boat crossings.
But in a further blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years has now passed 100,000.
The latest Home Office figures showed 755 migrants were detected in the Channel on Thursday, the highest daily figure so far this year.
However, the total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is around 15% below the equivalent number at this point last year.
Sky News
Updated Fri, 11 August 2023
Asylum seekers have been removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel's water system.
It is not clear where they are being moved to but the Home Office said all 39 migrants on board would be disembarked on Friday as a "precautionary measure".
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is understood to be chairing meetings about the situation.
Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, can cause a serious type of lung infection known as Legionnaires' disease.
None of those on the barge have shown signs of having the disease and are all being provided with "appropriate advice and support", said the Home Office.
The Bibby Stockholm is one of the new forms of asylum seeker accommodation the government is using to cut the costs of hotels.
Ministers are facing questions about when the tests were carried out and who knew what and when.
Sky News understands routine testing of the water supply was initially carried out on Tuesday 25 July but the results did not come back until Monday 7 August, the same day asylum seekers began to board the Bibby Stockholm, which is docked in Portland Port.
However the Home Office was not made aware of the results until two days later on Wednesday 9 August.
The government said it was only yesterday - Thursday 10 August - that it was advised by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to remove people on board, and then only the six individuals who embarked that day.
The decision was taken to remove all 39 individuals as a "further temporary precaution" on Friday.
Labour's shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said it was "extraordinary" that it appeared proper checks hadn't taken place before migrants were moved on board.
'Utter shambles'
He told Sky News: "It's absolutely right that the barge has to be evacuated but what a complete and utter shambles. This is a catalogue of catastrophe and government ministers should hang their heads in shame."
He suggested the government had "rushed" to try to get everybody on to the barge quickly "because the whole thing was becoming such public relations disaster for them" after the opening of the vessel was beset by a number of delays.
"It's once again an example of Tory ministers putting their own interests ahead of the interests both of the community there and of the people that they're putting onto the barge."
A Home Office spokesperson said the health and welfare of those on board the vessel "is our utmost priority".
They confirmed environmental samples from the water system on the Bibby Stockholm "have shown levels of legionella bacteria which require further investigation".
The government department added the bacteria samples relate "only to the water system on the vessel itself" and not fresh water entering the barge.
'No health risk to wider community'
It stressed there is no health risk to the wider community of Portland and that the disease "does not spread from person to person".
The Home Office said it was working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Dorset council's environmental health team and Dorset NHS.
With a capacity of more than 500, the government hopes using the Bibby Stockholm, together with former military bases, will help reduce the £6m a day it is spending on hotel bills for asylum seekers waiting for claims to be processed.
The first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge on Monday and a small number also arrived on Tuesday.
However several refused to board the vessel amid warnings from the Home Office that they would face having government support removed.
On Wednesday, Mr Jenrick described the barge as "perfectly decent accommodation" that was similar to that used by British oil and gas workers.
But speaking to Sky News, Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, disputed Mr Jenrick's comparison.
Asked how common it was for the bacteria to be present, Dr Pankhania said: "They should not be present in a place like that and when Robert Jenrick says we house oil workers on similar barges, he is definitely not comparing like with like.
"When you accommodate oil workers...there wouldn't be 500. And when you have a large number of people accommodated you need better plumbing systems so the water temperature is maintained at the right temperature."
Dr Pankhania said the disease would most likely have spread through the showers used on the vessel.
He said those most likely to be negatively affected were older people, smokers, and those who are immune suppressed.
Read more on the Bibby Stockholm:
What's it like inside the barge?
Asylum seekers face withdrawal of government support if they don't board barge
Asylum seeker says barge reminds him of hiding from Islamic State group.
Campaigners were also quick to hit out at the government over the development.
The charity Care4Calais, which represents asylum seekers, said the bacteria discovery shows its concerns over the barge are "justified", adding: "The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this government's hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain's asylum system."
The campaign group No to the Barge said the news was "another example of the haphazard, incompetent way our government has approached this scheme from start to finish" and called on Mr Jenrick to stand down.
The discovery of Legionella on board the Bibby Stockholm is the latest embarrassing setback in a plan beset with controversy and delay from the very start.
The barge faced considerable opposition due to concern about asylum seekers' welfare and the impact on local services, while the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned the vessel is a potential "death trap" - an assessment they have stood by today.
The government argues the Bibby Stockholm and its other new accommodation sites will act as a vital deterrent to small boat crossings.
But in a further blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years has now passed 100,000.
The latest Home Office figures showed 755 migrants were detected in the Channel on Thursday, the highest daily figure so far this year.
However, the total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is around 15% below the equivalent number at this point last year.
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